He introduced new defensive line coach Larry Johnson, and more importantly, new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash — then added that he would be more involved “than I ever have been” in helping out on defense.

This is what happens when you lose your last two games of the season after winning the previous 24. This is what happens when dreams of recreating what you had in the SEC dissolve into a three-game stretch to finish the season where the Buckeyes gave up 115 points.

Finally, he got to the recruiting class, where Urb did what Urb does best: recruit like he’s still coaching in the SEC.

Nothing has changed since Meyer left Florida after the 2010 season. Those who recruit well, win games. And no one recruits like the SEC.

Seven of the top 10 teams in the Rivals.com recruiting rankings are from the SEC, and all 10 have ties to the league that last month had a seven-game national title streak snapped by Florida State. Jimbo Fisher modeled his FSU program after what Nick Saban accomplished at LSU and Alabama, and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly admitted in 2012 that he had changed his thinking to play and recruit like an SEC team.

The last in the current top 10 is Ohio State, and there’s little doubt what plan the Buckeyes are following.

By the end of the day Wednesday, the Buckeyes had a consensus top five class, and nailed three key areas: defensive front seven, speed and overall athleticism. The same foundation Meyer used to rebuild Florida into an elite program — and the same he’s using to make Ohio State look more and more like an SEC program with each passing season.

“We have a plan to win that has been successful, that has won championships,” Meyer said in December. “I don’t think you veer from that.”

That means recruiting defense-first and focusing on speed. When Meyer was at Florida, his No. 1 priority was the fastest player at every position.

Even if that player hadn’t been thoroughly recruited or evaluated, he was still a top target if he could run. Case in point: Jerimy Finch.

An elite safety from Indianapolis, Finch wasn’t being recruited by Florida until Meyer saw game tape on him and saw him run. He offered him on the spot.

While Finch never panned out (he later transferred to Indiana), his recruitment underscores Meyer’s philosophy: the fastest player usually wins. While Ohio State looked fast for the first three months of last season, that last three games exposed the defense as average in critical areas.

The Buckeyes still aren’t strong and fast up the middle (defensive tackle, middle linebacker, strong safety), and are too often out of position. Meyer thinks he has solved the second part of that equation with the hiring of Ash, whose defenses at Wisconsin under Bret Bielema were among the Big Ten’s best.

As for personnel, he and his staff reached down into Georgia and pulled the No. 1 middle linebacker in the nation (Raekwon McMillan) away from Florida and Georgia, and got three other elite linebackers who will have to play next fall. Ohio State landed two defensive linemen who can run, and who have plenty of room to grow into tall and undersized bodies — and another who could slide inside and play on the interior.

Take fast players and put them in position to help you on the field, much like Meyer will do with speedy cornerback Erick Smith, who will move to safety to help fill problems up the middle. Much like he did at Florida for six years — and how that philosophy led to two national championships.

“We’re getting close,” Meyer said when asked about speed as the focus. “We need a couple more (players). From where it was two years ago to where it is now is much different.”

It’s all about the transition. The sooner Ohio State looks — and plays — like an SEC team, the sooner those embarrassing losses go away.